


He Would Laugh

by LadyLaviniya



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Bonding, Father's Day, Gen, Kid Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time), Past Baelfire | Neal Cassidy/Emma Swan, Teen Henry Mills (Once Upon a Time), thank god too, this turned out way less angsty than I thought it would
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 11:04:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,080
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11251815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LadyLaviniya/pseuds/LadyLaviniya
Summary: Mulan doesn’t celebrate Father’s Day.





	He Would Laugh

She goes for her usual jog around the perimeter of the park at four-thirty, pedometer on her wrist, phone in her pocket, and earbuds in her ears. Though she considers the practice of listening to music while exercising something of a luxury, she cannot deny the sense of security simply wearing the earbuds provide, as people are far less likely to initiate her into unwanted conversations when they assume she is unable to hear them in the first place.

Today, though, as she begins on her first of several laps around the relatively small park, she spots a boy sitting alone on one of the benches, staring blankly at his feet with his head in his hands. Even at a distance, she knows he is the Mills boy, and Emma’s son, Henry. Though she never once laid eyes on him, there were hardly many children around to compare, and Roland is far too young to count amongst them.

Henry doesn’t bat an eye when she nears, doesn’t look up when she stops in front of him, and jumps when she taps him on the shoulder with a small “Hey,” after removing one of her earbuds.

“Mulan?!” His eyes widen with surprise, and his jaw lingers gaping as he tries to decide whether or not to smile at the sight of her. “When did you—when did you get to Storybrooke? How?”

“A while. A portal.” She offers a polite smile just as her eyes flash to the empty spot beside him. “May I?”

“Y-yeah, of course!”

She can feel him staring at her as she removes the other earbud and stuffs them both into her pocket alongside her phone. When she turns to him, he pretends to wipe away invisible lint on his jeans before catching her eyes again.

“Wow,” is all he can say with a slight shake of his head, “It’s really you. _The_ warrior Mulan. In Storybrooke, in modern clothes...” he adds, eyeing her white spaghetti strap and black shorts, “Sitting next to me.”

She elbows him gently in the arm. “Please. I’m no different than any other woman in this town. Building people up like that only sets you up for disappointment.”

He chuckles. “You’re right. Sorry.” She nods.

“Why are you sitting here all by yourself? Won’t Emma, Regina, or Snow be wondering where you are?”

The lighthearted smile fades from his lips, and he gives a halfhearted, sullen shrug in answer before looking away and slouching. She tilts her head, and crosses her legs. It is a while before he gives her a proper answer, with another shrug and an attempt at a casual grin before he looks her in the eye again.

“It’s Father’s Day, you know?”

“Oh.” She shakes her head. “I had no idea that was today.”

Henry absently kicks at the concrete walkway before the bench. “Yeah.” He looks up at her just then, and there is a fire in his eyes as he momentarily forgets his own melancholy. He asks, “Do you know if your dad’s here?”

“I...” She freezes. Tian, how she wishes she did. He would balk at the idea of there being but two days of the year dedicated to honoring mothers and fathers when the concept and practice of filial piety has already existed for thousands of years. Oh, he would laugh. “I’m not sure... What about yourself? Where is Baelfire?”

He points in the direction of the cemetery. “He died shortly after Mom and I came back. The Wicked Witch of the West killed him. But he’s in a good place, so I’m not worried. When we were going to the Underworld, Mom had a dream about him; he told her he was happy.”

She sighs. “He was a good man, your father. He helped me realize some things about myself, and I’m grateful to have met him.” She relates the story voluntarily when she sees his eyes widen, and he listens, rapt.

“His belief in love wasn’t strong enough... to overcome his fear of rejection... Huh.” Henry murmurs. After a moment of pondering, he adds, with a cheeky smile, “That’s a very nice way of telling him he was a wuss.”

“Hey,” she chides, slapping his knee lightly, “Don’t let him hear you say that, or he might decide to interfere when you find someone yourself.”

He laughs then, and stands up, tilting his head towards the sky. “Yeah, he probably would. I can just see his face forming in the clouds like Mufasa.” She wisely chooses not to question who that is, not that he gives her the time to begin asking. Henry spins on his heel, and offers his hand to her, still smiling, handsomer than ever. “Thanks, Mulan. For telling me about my dad. I guess I needed that today.”

“Sure thing, Henry,” she says, accepting his hand up and shaking it properly after rising from her seat. “Will you be all right on your own?”

He nods, and she takes that as her cue to leave. Before she gets too far, he grabs her arm.

“Wait,” he says. “You said you weren’t sure if your dad’s in town, right?”

She shoves her hand in her pocket, and is actually grateful her earbuds have tangled during their chat on the bench. “I haven’t looked...” she murmurs, letting her gaze linger on his bright, young face. “Why?”

He grins. “I think I know someone who can help you find him.”

* * *

She forgoes the rest of her laps around the park to pursue a lead at Granny’s Bed-and-Breakfast. Room number seven, Henry said. What a lucky number.

When she reaches it, she takes a moment before knocking to release a sigh. Henry is a good boy, and his intentions are the same. If nothing comes of this, she can’t and won’t hold it against him. There isn’t much she has to lose, anyway.

She knocks. Once, twice.

She has a speech prepared. _Excuse me,_ she’d begin, _my name is Mulan. I fought in the Emperor’s army during the Ogre Wars years ago, in place of my father, General Zhou. In my search for him, I was directed here by an acquaintance of mine. He said you might be able to help me._

But when the door opens, her jaw drops, and she forgets every single word she’s ever known in English.

“Lăoshī?!” she gasps. “Shì nǐ?!”

The old man Henry referred to only as _The Dragon_ smiles. “Long time no see, Mulan.”


End file.
